CONSERVATION LAW

A principle of great importance in a variety of scientific constructs. In the physics of closed systems,energy neither increases nor decreases as the system evolves (seefirst law of thermodynamics). No known case has contradicted this law. Energy merely changes its form and usability with all quantities always summing to a fixed total. In information theory the total amount of information transmitted within a system is a similar constant. It can be decomposed in numerous ways leaving no quantity unaccounted for. Conserved quantities are also called invariants and the conceptualization of quantities such that a conservation law remains true usually leads to powerful theories or accounting algebras. (Krippendorff)